Mercado Restaurant — Restaurant in Toronto

I would NOT recommend this place at all. We recently had a family gathering at this location and I called a few days in advance to arrange tables. I know that because of COVID things are done differently and we were ok with that. We are a family of 8 and we were informed that the maximum seating capability was 6 people per table. I had asked if we could do two tables of 4 side by side on the patio (keeping whatever 6 ft. distance necessary between the tables) so we could just be social still. I was informed by the manager that this was absolutely not possible due to the way their tables were organized on the patio and that they refused to move tables to accommodate. So, I asked the manager what he could guarantee and he said that the only thing he could guarantee was a table of 6 and 2 that were near each other. I said that was great and thanked him very much for helping us - he took two names and two phone numbers for the two separate reservations, as per the rules in place, no problem. When we arrived on the Sunday, the ladies at the front did not have our reservation written down. They were surprised to even hear that there was a reservation. They went and got the manager and he looked just as lost until I explained to him who I was and the conversation we had. Right away he became defensive and said he told me he couldn't guarantee anything. I looked at the patio and there was exactly what he promised, a table of 6 and a table of 2 side by side BUT someone was already seated at the table of two and had started their meal. So they put us at 2 tables of four which was impossible to begin with - it wasn't ideal because the way the tables were we would have our backs to each other but the manager kept saying this was the only option so we took it. When we sat down, the tables were in a lot of sun and we wanted to shift them just a bit so we could be in the shade and we were right away told that's no possible because of the measurements and restrictions - no one else was on the patio but us, but, ok! Fast forward a little bit and a Portuguese couple gets seated not far from us and they were allowed to move their seats and tables however they wanted to. A little while longer and a large family of 6 was seated who were the manger's friends and yet again, the manager himself helped them move their table so it could be in the shade. What happened to the rules for these people? I guess you have to know the manager or speak fluent Portuguese to be treated nicely at this place. Now, we get to the food. Half of the things on the menu were unavailable. Again, no problem, we understand the times are hard. We placed our orders and the wait time to get appetizers and our mains was so long. We are sitting on a patio in direct sunlight because there's not enough umbrellas and the waitresses NEVER refilled our water/drinks without us having to wave them down and ask for it - getting ice in our glasses was a whole different question because who has common sense these days. Now the food, it was mediocre. I have definitely had better at other restaurants. All of the seafood that was brought to our tables was undercooked (and might I mention there were two pregnant women in our group). We had grilled shrimp that were still see-through and squishy. I personally ordered the octopus for my main and it tasted like rotten sea water and underneath it was not grilled and it had a milky colour coming from it - it was definitely bad. The steaks were to be cooked medium and all of them came more raw than medium. At this point, it took so long to get our food we just wanted to leave. Most of our family didn't finish their meals. It was really disappointing. I have not experienced such poor customer service at a location in a long time. The customer service was so non-existent that complaining about our food didn't even seem worth it because it would be met with attitude. All in all, don't go here unless you're a family friend or you speak Portuguese fluently because if that's not the case, you'll be shoved in a corner and treated...

I’m a Hispanic woman and I recently visited this restaurant with my partner for a date night. The receptionist greeted us kindly, which we appreciated, but unfortunately, the experience quickly went downhill due to the waiter who was serving our table (I don’t know his name, but he was on duty at the time).

At first, everything seemed fine. However, the issues began shortly after. The waiter started bringing our silverware but repeatedly walked past our table without clearing the plates from our appetizer—even though they remained there until we asked for the check. He kept a seemingly polite demeanor, but his expression always looked annoyed or displeased. We tried not to make a big deal of it—we understand working in customer service is not easy—but what happened next was simply unacceptable.

When the main courses arrived, my partner’s dish was fine. Mine, however, had a long hair in it. I called my partner’s attention to confirm I wasn’t seeing things. At first, I thought it might be my own hair that had somehow fallen onto the plate, but to my surprise, it was buried underneath the vegetables and meat. It took me a minute or two to call the waiter over. My English isn’t perfect yet, but my partner helped me communicate.

I showed the hair to the waiter, who acted as if he couldn’t see it. I had to point it out with my fork and begin pulling it out, which took effort because it was tangled deep in the food. His initial response was to tell me it was probably my hair. I explained that this was impossible, considering how deeply embedded it was. Only then, once he saw I struggled to remove it, did he say, “Okay, I see it. I’ll change it for you. Do you want the same dish?” I said yes, though by then, I was already feeling uncomfortable.

Let me be clear: we value customer service highly—we both come from working-class families, and the last thing we want is to cause trouble or make a scene. But I was left with a bad taste in my mouth, and not because of the food. Five minutes later, the new plate arrived—with noticeably fewer vegetables than the original. Honestly, I couldn’t help but wonder if they had just removed the hair and sent it back. I didn’t want to argue—I’m a shy person and avoid confrontation—but the waiter handed me the plate with such a sarcastic tone, saying, “Here you go,” that it felt intentional.

Throughout the meal, he never once apologized or showed any concern. His smile seemed forced, and his behavior towards us was noticeably different from how he treated other tables. It made me wonder if this restaurant treats immigrant or Spanish-speaking customers differently. It’s really disappointing because we were excited to try a new place, and it’s not exactly a cheap one either.

I don’t recommend this restaurant if you’re Latina or a Spanish-speaking customer looking for a pleasant experience. I left feeling disrespected—not just me, but my partner as well.

Note: I didn’t take photos or videos of the hair in my food because the whole situation happened quickly, and my first instinct was to show it to the waiter. There’s a camera outside the restaurant, right in front of our table—if anyone cares to check, it would show that the hair was clearly not mine and that I called the waiter over within a minute or two. I believe that if we had been a different kind of customer, the reaction would have been completely different. Once again: I do not...

I placed a reservation for the Saturday that just past (Aug. 21st). I had placed this reservation a couple weeks ago and the lady I spoke on the phone with was very pleasant and I made sure to tell her that I wanted the reservation in the patio, under the cute, colorful umbrellas that they have and further explained that it was my cousin's birthday that we're celebrating and I would appreciate it if we were sat there. She replied with, "Absolutely, I can definitely make that happen for you. I'll make a note of it for you". Let's fast forward to the Saturday for when we got there. A man greeted us, he was bald-ish, wearing a polo shirt and shorts and I told him that about the reservation, he then double checked and sat us down on the OTHER SIDE where the umbrellas were not located, and I had told him that I mentioned where I wanted to be seated for the reservation. He then had the audacity to continuously tell me that they do not guarantee the seating for reservations, and that's when I asked him point blank, what the purpose of the reservation was if they cannot guarantee the seating preferred. I assume he may be the manager/owner of the restaurant, but he was unprofessional and very rude considering he kept saying "we don't guarantee seating" as if he's a broken recorder. This in itself was very disappointing and spoiled the rest of the experience.

Moving on to our server, she was nice but did nothing to make our stay incredible. All she did was say she agreed with me in regards to our seating, but then continued to be mediocre. She took a long time checking in on us, giving us our bill, and giving us the machine for payment. Reservations was made for 7:30pm and we didn't leave until 10:40pm - and that's because we were waiting for our server for majority of the time. The chef made more of an effort to see us and talk to us about their food and the tapas, and that's saying alot.

The food, in my opinion, was ok. I had the duck risotto and it was alright, but inconsistent since my cousin had the same thing, but she had more sausage in hers and I had more duck in mine. We were also surprised that our main course was served first before our appetizers. The tacos and the Pasteis de Nata ice cream were the highlight of the night, I guess you can say. We also ordered the red sangria which was also just alright, we didn't finish it.

Towards the end of the night, the man who greeted us in the beginning came back to the table and told us that we were allowed to move under the umbrellas for pictures. At this point, we were just waiting for our server to come back to give us the bill. It would've been nice if he offered this kind of gesture in the beginning or let us know once a table opens up, we could move instead of repeating "we don't guarantee any seating". Regardless, there was nothing special about this place from start to finish. It was a disappointing experience overall. I really do hope that they find staff to help out, and review their reservation policy to be more clear in what seating arrangements you can and cannot book for. All in all, not a great experience, nothing special, and was just a big...